It's Never Too Late to Do the "Wright" Thing
by, Nefertiti Cooper
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| Photo: Courtesy |
Recently, I had the pleasure to speak with University High School alumnus, Detective Rasool Wright. Mr. Wright is an Essex County Detective as well as an Army Veteran. Learning that he was kid who grew up in the same environment as me, made his story so relatable and inspiring. I was especially intrigued to discover that Mr. Wright works in law enforcement and yet, he's still so down to Earth.
As we know, police officers get a bad wrap. As a community we fear them and we find most to be untrustworthy. However, not all cops are bad cops. As a matter of fact, after speaking with Detective Wright I know that's not the case--he's is one of the good ones. Detective Wright cares about his community and his alma mater. I picked up on that before we started our conversation. The photo he sent for this interview was taken right here in the heart of the city. If you pay attention, it's not hard to see the beauty spread across the city of Newark.
So, I asked Detective Wright to tell me, what personal attributes he thinks are essential for success in his profession.
Detective Wright said, "I believe that compassion and awareness are essential to be an effective police officer. Compassion to understand that we as police officers have a duty to protect and serve, and awareness to realize that community policing is most effective tool that we have."
I would agree with him 100%. We should begin to build bridges and relationships with the police officers in our community. They are here to protect and serve us. But that's a conversation for another day.
Mr. Wright and I kicked off the interview by talking about his journey after he crossed the stage with his diploma in hand.
What college(s) did you attend after graduating from University?
"When I graduated from University, I attended Bloomfield College."
Do you think University High School adequately prepared you for college and/or a career?
"I think that University definitely prepared me for college as well as my career. The teachers that were there were not only some of the best educators, they were some of the best people that I have ever met. They didn't focus on just the curriculum, they often taught us about life in general. Mrs. Howard, to Mr. Hankerson, Mrs. Hewitt and Mrs. Gilmore, just to name a few."
I could tell that Mr. Wright was really enthusiastic about his alma mater, so when I asked him to tell me about the thing he most looked forward to doing when he was in school, he had this to say,
This made me wonder what his fondest memory of school when I asked, Mr. Wright said the following:
"I don't have one specific memory, but I can honestly say my entire experience at UHS was a great one. The friendships I gained in UHS are strong even to this day."
Often times in life we wish we could go back and do something again. I asked Mr. Wright, if he could go back and do high school all over again, what would he do differently?
His response, "If I had to do high school all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. The lessons I learned in high school stay with me even to this day."
I can respect that. You really shouldn't live your life wondering what if?
When asked to give some advice to current University High School Students Mr. Wright had this to say,
"The best advice I can give current UHS students would be this, there are many paths to success. As I stated before, I went to Bloomfield College. However, I did not graduate from there. I left Bloomfield College and went to Rutgers University-Newark Campus. I was expelled from Rutgers due to poor grades. I was extremely disappointed in myself. So I decided to join the Army. I served 10 years in the Army then decided to come back home.
I was hired by the Essex County Sheriff Office in 2008 and have been there the last 10 years. But more importantly, I graduated from Thomas Edison State University in April of 2017 with a B.S in Homeland Security and Emergency Management. I say all this to say, the traditional way (high school, then college) doesn't always happen for us. Many things can happen during our road to success; but as long as you continue to strive for success, it will come."
Detective Wright's honesty about the road he travelled to achieve his post high school education is inspiring. His honesty proves that it is never too late to get yourself on the right track. It also serves as a living testimony to others who may be at that fork in their road where one decision can make all the difference.
I really appreciate Detective Wright taking the time from his important job to talk me and share his knowledge with myself and the next generation to follow in his footsteps.
Detective Wright, we need more men in uniform like you!
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